How to Request and Prepare for a Social Security ALJ Hearing After Denial

If the SSA denies your application for Social Security benefits, you can and should appeal. Appealing a denial will lead to an ALJ hearing. During the hearing, you will have the chance to plead your case and clarify anything the SSA may have missed.

Because this hearing will give you a second chance, you must approach it the right way. Here is what you need to know about requesting and preparing for an ALJ hearing.

Appeal With a Request for Reconsideration First

When you receive your denial, you should also receive a notice of your right to petition for reconsideration. Even if you don't receive the notice, just know that you absolutely have the right to ask for a reconsideration. In many cases, before you can reach the ALJ hearing level, you must first go through the Request for Reconsideration process whether you want to or not.

You can contact your local Social Security office and tell them you want to appeal your denial. Follow all their instructions and send in the required paperwork immediately. With the appeal process, you should never delay or dawdle. These processes have complex time limits, and the longer you wait, the higher the chances for further and final denials.

During a reconsideration, a new examiner will review your case. Unfortunately, this level of appeal does have a high denial rate, but it takes you one step closer to an ALJ hearing.

Appeal With a Request for an ALJ Hearing Next

If you're denied at the reconsideration level, you can then move on to request an ALJ hearing. Once again, you should start this process immediately on receiving a denial. Contact your local Social Security office and let them know you want to appeal the reconsideration decision.

The office will give you instructions, and you can also look up procedures online as well. For example, you can file an appeal online or download the relevant forms from the SSA website.

Your ALJ hearing will give you the opportunity to speak to the administrative law judge and prove your need for benefits. While the ALJ hearing isn't exactly the same as a typical court hearing, you can still use legal rights as with any other type of court appearance. For example, the ALJ hearing will allow:

• Witnesses
• Statements
• Expert opinions
• Testimony
• Legal representation

At your hearing, you will have a lot of power over the eventual outcome of your case. To exercise that power, you must plan and prepare.

Understand Your Case

If you're not fully sure why you've received denials, then now is the right time to start researching it. You're fighting that denial, so having some understanding of it can only help. In addition, you can request a complete copy of your case file from the SSA. Make that request as soon as possible.

Your case file will clue you in to how the SSA came to deny your claim. You can use these files to find what information they didn’t have and create arguments as to why they were wrong to deny your claim. In some cases, your case may even contain your most recent medical records, but don't assume that it will.

Gather All Possible Documentation

Consider all documentation concerning your case as relevant. Gather all correspondence with the SSA, your doctors, and anyone else related to the case.

Get together your medical records, and make sure you request updated medical records. Don't assume the SSA will have up-to-date medical records for you or even all the right documentation concerning your case. With medical records, the important thing is not that you have all of them, but that you have the most recent and relevant copies.

Ask Your Doctor to Write an Opinion

Your doctor can write their professional opinion concerning your injury, disability, or need for assistance. The statement will have the doctor's professional thoughts on your ability to work and your functional limitations. This formal opinion can hold a lot of weight for you at the hearing.

Speak With a Qualified Attorney

You don't necessarily need an attorney when you first apply for benefits, but it can help. However, once you reach this level of appeal, you should consider speaking with an attorney of the utmost importance. Your attorney can help you file the right paperwork, gather the proper evidence, and generally get things moving for you quickly, efficiently, and in the right way.

An attorney can also speak on your behalf at your hearing, which can help you to present your case clearly, concisely, and with the right terminology. Since an attorney will have familiarity with how things work during an ALJ hearing, he or she will typically know how to best argue your case.

You don't have to wait to speak with an attorney about your Social Security case. Contact Todd East Attorney at Law.